monotonous

mo·not·o·nous

adj \mə-ˈnä-tə-nəs, -ˈnät-nəs\

Definition of MONOTONOUS

1

: uttered or sounded in one unvarying tone : marked by a sameness of pitch and intensity

2

: tediously uniform or unvarying

— mo·not·o·nous·ly adverb

— mo·not·o·nous·ness noun

Examples of MONOTONOUS

1. <the lecturer's monotonous delivery threatened to put us to sleep>
2. Altogether, millions of mostly obscure entries in the public record offer details of a forced labor system of monotonous enormity. —Douglas A. Blackmon, Slavery By Another Name, 2008
3. At times, the grayness of the place was consumed by its own monotonous noise, of bars clanging, of inmates being led through the corridors, of guards yelling out orders … —Benjamin Weiser, New York Times Magazine, 6 Aug. 2000
4. The monotonous chant of the indoctrinated, ideologically armored from head to foot … —Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997
5. The crickets stridulated their everlasting monotonous meaningful note. —John Updike, The Witches of Eastwick, 1984

Origin of MONOTONOUS

Greek monotonos, from mon- + tonos tone

First Known Use: 1776

Related to MONOTONOUS

Synonyms: arid, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dry, dull, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monochromatic, boring, numbing, old, pedestrian, ponderous, slow, stale, stodgy, stuffy, stupid, tame, tedious, tiresome, tiring, uninteresting, wearisome, weary, wearying

Antonyms: absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting

Related Words: aseptic, barren, blah, dullish, pleasureless, prosaic, prosy, soggy, spiritless; blank, earthbound, gray (also grey), inanimate, pallid, pedantic, sterile, suspenseless, undramatic, uneventful, unexciting, unimaginative, uninspiring, unnewsworthy, unrewarding, unsensational, unspectacular; annoying, bothersome, irksome, irritating; longsome; palling; draining, enervating, exhausting, fatiguing, wearing; debilitating, enfeebling; demoralizing, discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting; common, commonplace, ordinary, tepid, unexceptional, unsurprising, vapid; cumbersome, lumbering, plodding, poky (or pokey)

Near Antonyms: amazing, astonishing, astounding, awesome, eye-opening, fabulous, marvelous (or marvellous), sensational, spectacular, surprising, wonderful, wondrous; animating, breathtaking, electrifying, energizing, enlivening, exciting, exhilarating, galvanizing, hair-raising, inspiring, invigorating, rip-roaring, rousing, stimulating, stirring, thrilling; amusing, diverting, entertaining; moving, poignant, touching; alluring, attracting, attractive, beguiling, bewitching, captivating, charming, enchanting, enthralling, entrancing, fascinating; mesmerizing, spellbinding; suspenseful; arresting, provocative, tantalizing

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Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile